Flash drought, invasive grasses, winds, hurricane and climate change fuel Maui’s devastating fires

By CLAIRE RUSH, SETH BORENSTEIN and JENNIFER MCDERMOTT
Associated Press

A dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging, including flash drought, high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of more extreme weather events like what’s playing out on the island of Maui, where dozens of people have been killed and a historic tourist town was devastated. Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia’s faculty of forestry. She says climate change is leading to “these unpredictable or unforeseen combinations that we’re seeing right now and that are fueling this extreme fire weather.”